Dr. Murray Feingold: Lock medicines up tight

Wednesday

Mar 19, 2014 at 9:34 AMMar 19, 2014 at 9:34 AM

By Dr. Murray FeingoldMore Content Now

Today, it is not uncommon for grandparents to be responsible for watching their grandchildren.The grandparents may live in the same home as their grandchildren. Or, both parents work. Or, child care is periodically needed because the parent is required to be away from the home.A recent survey of 1,000 grandparents who watched their under-5-year-old grandchildren was done by Safe Kids Worldwide to determine where the grandparents stored their medications while watching the youngsters.Seventy-four percent of the grandparents reported that they took some type of medication every day. Therefore, there was the potential that these drugs could inadvertently be found and ingested by the inquisitive child.The danger is real. The results of one study showed that the medications ingested by 38 percent of children who were treated in emergency departments were the medications of the grandparents.This is not because the grandparents were unaware of the dangers of children ingesting medications, because the survey showed that they were.However, the concerns about medications were perhaps not as high as they should have been. For example, covering electrical outlets was considered to be more important than medications.In the survey, 42 percent of the grandparents stored their medications in kitchen and bathroom counters instead of being stored in places out of the reach and sight of children.The medications of 28 percent of the grandparents were in containers that could be easily opened. For many grandparents it is difficult to open childproof containers, therefore, they opt for containers that can be opened with more ease.These containers also are easier for a child to open.Grandparents sometimes forget to put away their medications or they become so immersed in caring for their grandchild they become distracted and inadvertently leave the medications in places that are accessible to children.Yes, grandparents need to pay more attention to keeping medications out the hands of their grandchildren. But so do the parents.Parents also are guilty of exposing their little ones, not only to medications, but to other dangerous household products that, when ingested, result in a trip to the hospital emergency department or a call to the local poison control center.Everyone must be on alert because little children are born with some type of inborn radar that allows them to find the many hidden dangers in the home, including medications.Dr. Murray Feingold is the physician in chief of The Feingold Center for Children, medical editor of WBZ-TV and WBZ radio, and president of the Genesis Fund. The Genesis Fund is a nonprofit organization that funds the care of children born with birth defects, mental retardation and genetic diseases.